Creating and Researching Japanese Films

Historical Japanese Films

A Japanese film won an American Academy Award in February 2009, demonstrating to a wide audience that Japanese film is a world-class form of art and culture. However, Japanese films have long been recognized worldwide for their high level of quality and artistic achievement. In the filmmaking education that takes place overseas at leading schools like La Fémis (a France-based film and television school), Japanese films regularly appear in the examinations. Furthermore, international filmmaking education often features the works of Kenji Mizoguchi and Yasujiro Ozu alongside the likes of Alfred Hitchcock. From a global perspective, the usefulness and excellence of Japanese films are found in their exquisite “attention to detail.” They carefully depict the nuances of human emotions, drawing in the viewer through the use of everyday elements that are familiar and unpretentious. Above all, they pursue the richness of the human spirit. The value of such Japanese films is far greater than we the Japanese people ever imagined.